The facts of the case are these:
A while back my wife's phone broke. We took it in and were told that the insurance on the account was on my phone instead of hers. However, when we bought the phones (in Salt Lake) we were told it would be put on hers, knowing that her work is hard on phones and I have never had problems with mine. So the insurance was not done correctly from the start. This is mistake number 1.
When she took the phone into the Orem phone to get fixed, the men (Eric and Eugene) told her they would switch the insurance to her phone and have the phone sent in to be fixed. (They sent the phone in but still didn't switched the insurance until days later when she called again to check on the phone status.)
We are still not totally sure if the insurance is on the correct phone.
They told her the phone would take 3-5 days to be fixed. My wife told them she couldn't be without a phone (her business hinges on phone use and was on a shoot during this fiasco). They told her they could not allow her to borrow or rent a phone but that she HAD to buy another one to use for the 3 days. (If this is policy, it seems shady. Honestly, no "loaner" phones for customers to use while a phone is being fixed?) She felt she had no choice so she purchased the phone they showed her. After a few WEEKS, she was told her phone was ready to be picked up.
In the meantime, the new phone she was asked to buy had been damaged (See, hard on phones). But they told her (on the phone during a call to the store) that if she brought that phone in, everything would be fine. "No big deal." However, when she went in to pick up her fixed phone, they told her that she could not return the new phone they persuaded her to buy.
My wife tried to explain that she thought the point of insurance was to protect her against this kind of thing. They then laughed at her. She became frustrated as they continued to belittle her knowledge of their asinine policies and scoff at her in front of our kids. (Had I been there at the time, I would probably be updating my blog from prison.) Their "customer service" was this: they gave her back the phone that had been fixed without syncing it and getting her stored info, phone numbers, etc. back onto it and said, in a general sense, good luck with BOTH your phones. They were unwilling to listen to her side and help her understand the policy (if this is an actual Sprint policy). They were unrelenting in their accusations that the whole thing was her fault. This is awful customer service and is the norm for every Sprint store we visit in Utah -- we have been to four.
This situation made it apparent to us that our account and business relationship with Sprint is NOT valuable. Hoping to find an answer and some help, I called Sprint. Not much changed.
My first call into Sprint on Dec. 3, I got a very nice understanding gentleman with no power to do anything for us. He asked that I use the website to lodge a complaint against the store. I did. The complaint contained most of what you have read above. My complaint received an email response that I would get a phone call within 48 hours from a supervisor.
I received no call.
On Dec. 7, I got this email:
[Dear Brett,
Thank you for contacting Sprint. I will be happy to assist you regarding the service of the handset.
To address the concern in the best possible manner, I need to access the account.
Sprint is committed to protecting customer privacy and security. Therefore, in order to provide account information, we need you to confirm the following:
a. The last four digit of SSN number
b. The Account Holder email address of record
c. The Account Holder Mailing Address
Please reply to this email with the requested information.
Thank you for contacting us. Have a great day.
Veronica S
E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"]
Note the awesome statement in the signature. Oh, how I laugh.
I sent this reply immediately:
[Hello,
a. (ssn info)
b. (email info)
c. (address info)
Thanks. I hope this helps. Let me know what else I can do.
Brett]
Between Dec. 7 and 10, I got no response and no call.
I sent a simple "What's the status?" email and got this very kind response:
[Thank you for your reply with requested details regarding the account.
We are deeply disturbed to hear of this and appreciate the time you've taken to inform us in your email.
Under no circumstances do we allow or endorse such behavior. It is certainly not appropriate on any level. Please know that I have forwarded your note along to the appropriate departments so that they may take further necessary action.
I don't blame you for being upset, and I do apologize profusely for all of the mistakes and delays, which contributed to this very unfortunate series of encounter.
I can only imagine how frustrated you must be with us at this point, and after reading your many pleas for resolution, I appreciate the admirable restraint you exercised in your message. My sincere apologies for the time you have spent dealing with this issue.
We cannot forget the fact that you have been a loyal customer [7+ years] and enjoying our services. I realize that you have been greatly inconvenienced by this situation, the way you have been treated by Eugene and Eric. This is unacceptable and is not what we want you to expect from us.
We pride ourselves in being focused on customers like you who make our company successful. I apologize that your experience with us has not been consistent with that philosophy.
Although we cannot change the damaging impression made, I hope that you will consider this error as just an aberration and give us another chance to serve you better.
I have also arranged a call back regarding the same and you will receive the call with in 24- 48 hours from our specialist. This will enable us to personally talk to you and resolve your issues to your satisfaction.
Be assured that proper action will be taken for the same. I have forwarded your email to the appropriate department.
I am sorry again for what happened, and request you to let me know if I can be further assistance.
Have a great day!
Sandy P.
E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"]
Great email, right? Guess what? NO ONE called. Sometime between Dec. 13 and 14, I sent this reply:
[Dear Sandy P. and Sprint Support,
Thank for your the email. Your empathy is appreciated.
However, it wasn't backed up with any action. It's been almost 4 days since
I was told in the reply email that a Specialist would contact me within
24-48 hours. I haven't gotten a call or an email from a Specialist.
Please have someone contact me today. We need to get this resolved.
Brett]
No one called. On Dec. 17, yep, three days later, I got this hilarious email:
[Sprint considers customer satisfaction to be our number one priority and I will be delighted to assist you with your call back.
I do apologize that you were not contacted. Please reply with the date and time you wish to be contacted and I will return your call.
Sprint values our customers, and we take pride in the services that we offer. We appreciate your business, and look forward to serving you in the future, and have a great day!
Joanne D.
E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"]
They don't just call like they have said they would. They ask ME to give the callback time. Awesome service, right? So, on Dec. 18, I write:
[Ok,
You can call me any time Monday - Friday between Noon and 6 pm Mountain Time. I'd prefer to be called tomorrow (Wed. Dec. 19), if at all possible.]
On Dec. 21 (three days after I sent my reply), I get this email ... not a phone call:
[Dear Brett,
Thank you for the reply.
As per your request I have arranged a call back for you. You will receive a call back from one of our representative with in next 24 to 48 hours.
I appreciate you emailing us today.
Romeo V.
E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"]
L - O - effing - L. Right? Am I crazy? Isn't this the worst customer service you have ever heard of in your entire life? Well, 48 hours later, I get a call. Yay. He says the can send a return kit to me if I Fax the receipt into him. Great. Sounds fair, right? So I begin to look for the receipt which takes me a week or so to find. This brings us up today.
I have the receipt and Amelia calls to get instructions on how to get a scanned copy of the receipt to them seeing how it's so 1998 to fax anything. We'd like to email it in and get things underway. Almost there, right?
NO.
Amelia spends more than an hour on the phone talking to 6 people in 3-4 different departments all of whom do not "know" any of the people who emailed me and all of whom cannot help us, they say. Finally she gets a supervisor on the phone ... and here is the punchline ... the woman says:
"You have to take the phone and receipt back to the store where you purchased it. We can't do anything with it if you send it to us."
Brilliant, right? After all of this, we are supposed to take the phone to the store and talk to the same employees that verbally lashed my wife and still WOULD NOT take the phone back.
I got on the phone and unleashed a stream of profanity the likes few have ever heard me utter. I let her have it. And then, deciding not to cancel for fear that I may lose any chance of getting any of my money back, told her that I would take it in and have them handle it. She said that new notes on my account would show the store the information they would need to assist us better. Again, I told her I would take the phone in. She then asked if she could do anything else for me. I said:
"Pray for me. Because I will probably end up punching someone in the f--king face."
To be continued ...
